Isolation ‘can lead’ to raised stress level and deadly farm tragedies

Stress affects many workers, in different ways but in agriculture it can manifest itself in farmers predominantly working alone, which poses a risk to their mental health, according to a pychotherapist Tom Evans.

Mr Evans runs the TeamCare organisation in Midleton, Co Cork, and he says farming is vulnerable to external forces unlike other industries, and is frequently in crisis.

“The general public are well aware that farming can be a stressful occupation. We’ll regularly hear in our national media about the ‘latest crisis’ to hit the sector.